


Store Bought Sweetheart

by UntramenTaro



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-26 18:19:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5015176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntramenTaro/pseuds/UntramenTaro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A salary man becomes dragged into the underground world of hosts and hostesses over a store bento???</p><p>One day after work Kiyoteru walks into a convenience store to buy a bento. There he meets the headstrong and somewhat drunk Meiko, who works for a hostess club. Somewhat intrigued, he accepts her invitation to stop by the hostess club and soon he finds more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bento 1

It was late and as he trudged on home trough the bustling cityscape from his work, he couldn’t help but feel a little peckish.

“There’s a convenience store a few blocks down, I might as well make a detour.”

Making his way to the store, he was greeted with a sound of a bell and a hearty “welcome!” as he entered the bright inviting interior. The possibilities and combinations of foods both healthy and unhealthy to satiate his hunger surrounded him, making him feel increasingly gluttonous as he grabbed a basket and went shopping.

“I’ll go for something cheap… and maybe a lot of it.”

He made his way over to the bento corner, and carefully surveyed the food. There was just one on sale, most likely going to expire soon.

“Might as well. The price is right”

As soon as he put it on his shopping basket, there was an undignified screeching sound, most likely from a woman. Glancing around confused, he soon saw a woman in a red dress and high heels sprinting toward him at high speed.

“H-hey! Lady?? What’s wrong with you??”

“That’s  _my_  bento!!”

"S-says who??”

“Says  _ME_!” She snatched up the bento from his basket and glared indignantly at him.

"Hey… hate to break it to you, lady, but I got it first so it’s mine.”

“I have a greater need for this than you.”

“Seriously?”

“I’ll pay you back. I know how to please a man.”

He only just then noticed she was somewhat pretty despite her somewhat dishelved appearance from all the running. He shook all the strange thoughts out of head. “What kind of payment would you mean, miss?”

“You’ll find out. My name is MEIKO by the way. It’s my genji name.”

“Uh huh.”

“What’s your name, big boy?”

He sputtered somewhat, and considered whether or not he should give his name. “I’m… I’m Kiyoteru Hiyama.”

“Boring name you got, dontcha?”

“H-hey…”

“But that’s ok. Here.” She pulled out a business card out of her small purse and handed it to him. “Come by Club LOLA. I’ll take out a keep bottle in your name. Ask for me.”

“Sorry I’m not much interested in these sorts of establishments…”

“What kind of man are you?”

“Uhhhh one who is not interested in these sorts of establishments.”

She gave a small pout, sticking her lower lip out in a way that was both cute and flirtatious. He couldn’t help but think about how soft they would be to kiss but quickly caught himself.

“Anyway I’ll let you have it, I’ll buy something else. No need to pay me back or anything.”

“Visit me!”

“I said no!?? Why are you insistent?”

“I… I’d like you to come by this store and buy me bento and drop it off at the club during the weekdays. I’ll pay you for the trouble, just think of it as an errand job”

“Are you seriously trying to hire some salary man you just met to be your bento errand boy?”

“The club I work at only sells drinks and I never get a chance to eat and running here to grab food is troublesome and you looked like a total pushover enough for me to ask you to do this task.”

“Wow.”

“At least I’m honest.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Promise me a visit! Ciao!”

She somewhat elegantly sauntered (or should he say staggered?) away and he couldn’t help but feel she was probably half drunk from her work.

“Maybe I should pay her a visit.”


	2. Bento 2

He didn’t want to be here. Really. He didn’t.

As he walked around in the shady red-light district, his eyes scanned over the store fronts searching for a particular establishment.

“Club LOLA, Club LOLA…”

He found himself finally at his destination and took a deep breath before entering.

“Welcome sir!" He was greeted by many ladies, and was taken aback somewhat.

Maybe it was just his complete inability to communicate with women, but he managed to stammer back a greeting before turning completely red.

"Aren’t you a cutie? Which one of us would you like to entertain you tonight?”

“I-I’m here for… M-MEIKO…”

The ladies glanced at each other and exchanged looks that were half eye rolling and half confusion. “MEIKO, right? Are you sure you want to see MEIKO?”

“I-I-Is there a p-problem?”

“No sir. Right this way.”

As he followed right behind her heels, squinting around at the unfamiliar environment in the low lighting. It wasn’t before long when he heard yelling and a rather familiar unceremonious screech.

At that point Kiyoteru dropped the plastic bag full of bento he was holding as soon as he saw the source.

“LET GO OF ME!”

“Aaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwww come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn play with me longerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Wataru-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnn”

MEIKO was on the floor clinging on to this man’s leg, completely drunk and slurring her words.

“Iiiiiiiiiiishhhhhhhhh not faaaaaaiiiiiiiirrrrrrr Wataruuuuuuuuuuuu why are you so mean to meeeeeeeeeeeee”

“PLEASE STOP, I’M DONE FOR THE NIGHT NOW PLEASE LET GO!”

Kiyoteru wasn’t sure why he was just frozen in place. Was it shock that kept him rooted there? Fear perhaps?

The man finally managed to escape from MEIKO’s grasp, and hurriedly fled. As he jogged past Kiyoteru and the other hostesses, he gave a curt bow before continuing on.

Kiyoteru could hear the hostesses murmuring among themselves, and it became apparent to him that this was not MEIKO’s first time acting this way.

He turned to look at MEIKO, and saw her laying motionless on the ground where that man left her. He can hear faint sobs as he watched her heaving back.

“T-Thank you for escorting me to MEIKO, ladies. I-I’ll t-t-take it from here…”

The hostesses bowed to him before making their exit, and he made his way over to the sobbing woman on the floor.

“MEIKO? You alright?”

He crouched down next to her and gently patted her back. She looked up at him with her tear streaked face.

Almost instantaneously all the sorrow from her eyes disappeared and her face brightened. “Oh. If it isn’t the boring pushover with the boring name I don’t remember." 

"H-hey…”

“Did you bring my bento?” she chirped.

“Y-yeah… but really we have to clean you up…”

He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe her face.

She pouted. “I don’t need you taking care of me like a child with food on their face! I’ll do it myself!” she said as she snatched the handkerchief from his hands.

She rather clumsily rub her face with it, not really cleaning anything up. Kiyoteru couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Your bento is here. You seem a little shaken right now so I won’t ask for payment today. When I bring your bento tomorrow, pay me double then, alright?”

“Sure thing, boring guy.”

“It’s Kiyoteru”

“Yeah. That.”

As he stood up from his crouching position and made his way out, MEIKO stared at the handkerchief she had taken from him.

Burying her face in the handkerchief in an attempt to clean her smudged makeup, she couldn’t help but notice something.

“It smells nice. Doesn’t smell like him though. I wonder if he has a girlfriend already.” A sad smile flickered on her lips. “That’s a shame.”

She stood up and walked away, clutching the piece of cloth tightly.


	3. Bento 3

He was back again.

The hostesses immediately recognized him; he gave a curt bow and a sympathetic smile to the ladies as they murmured to one another.

“So you’re back again for MEIKO?”

“Yeah,” he raised the plastic bag to show them, “I’m just her errand boy, don’t mind me.”

“Errand boy?” The ladies giggled a little.

“Well she’s supposedly paying me and I do have to wait a while for the train home so I don’t see why not.”

One lady seemed to be particularly amused and spoke, “I’ll bring you to MEIKO, she’s not busy right now. Come. Walk and talk with me.”

As he followed behind her, she continued to talk. 

“Do you like MEIKO?”

“From what I saw, I’m not very sure. Is she always like that?”

“She’s a very low ranking hostess. There aren’t many who ask for her.”

“I see.”

“She’s… strange. She wasn’t always like that. She was happy before but something changed. Maybe a customer broke her heart.”

“Really?”

“She has been working here for a very long time. Maybe she’s past her prime and is clinging on to whatever is left,” the lady laughed.

He frowned a little. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he didn’t really like the feeling of talking badly about MEIKO behind her back. He didn’t have much of a positive opinion of her to begin with, but nonetheless he didn’t like it.

“MEIKO, here’s a guy looking for you.”

MEIKO looked up from the table and her dejected expression gave way to one of delight. “Hey it’s you! What’s your face!”

“Kiyoteru!” he snapped back

“Gesundheit.”

He silently gave MEIKO a sour expression while the other hostess bowed and left them.

“So, what’s your face, want to get a room together?”

“No, I came here to drop this off and get my payment.” He lifted up the plastic bag and shook it in a somewhat menacing and frustrated manner.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on.” She gestured into one of the guest booths and he reluctantly went inside. Both of them sat next to each other on the posh couch within.

“So, what’s your face.”

“Kiyoteru.”

“Four-eyes.”

He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, trying to summon as much patience as he could. “So what about my payment.”

She smirked. “Got it right here.”

She pulled out a bottle of wine and opened it, quickly and expertly pouring him a glass.

“Woah, I don’t drink.”

“A salary man that doesn’t drink. What a joke. Drinking with coworkers? Is that not a common occurrence? Or are you the black sheep that no one invites out?”

“Can you not?”

“Can I not what?”

“Please if you’re going to continue abusing me then I won’t bring you food.”

“Awww. Don’t be like that.”

“That’s it. I’m really just going to leave.” As he stood up she grabbed his sleeve.

“Please don’t leave,” she whispered. “Please don’t…”

His heart stirred as he looked at her forlorn expression, and he saw her gripping a handkerchief in her free hand.

“Isn’t that?”

“This? Yes it’s yours. From yesterday. I cleaned it up a little.” She let go of his sleeve and held the handkerchief up to him. “It has cute embroidery. Your girlfriend must be talented.”

“Ah well… It’s not quite…”

“A guy like you would rather be with his cute young girlfriend instead of an old hag like me.” Her voice was breaking up and her eyes welled with tears.

“I-I don’t think you’re an old hag…”

“Guys don’t want someone like me as their hostess. I’ve been here for how many years? 10? I’ve lost count. But any guy would want a girl with a pretty face and a nice body. I don’t have that anymore.”

“W-well, MEIKO-san has a pretty face and a nice body still!”

When she dropped her sadness and gave a mischievous smile, he suddenly realized what he had said and quickly clapped his hands over his mouth. “W-wait a second… I didn’t mean…”

“Oh? You don’t think that I have a pretty face and a nice body?”

“I do??? But I don’t???”

She stood up grabbed his arm, pressing her ample bust against him. “Do you think I have a nice body?”

“Y-yes!! No??” His body tensed up at her touch and he couldn’t think. His entire face had turned a lovely shade of red, and MEIKO giggled.

“You’re so fun to play around with.”

And with that, he became her plaything.


	4. Bento 4

It became a regular thing for him to drop by with food and snacks for all the hostesses. All the ladies took a shine to him, and would repeatedly bicker over who would get to pamper him that day.

He didn’t mind very much, of course. He had started to like being at Club LOLA, and to chat with such lovely ladies in his spare time. It was their job to, he supposed, but he found it enjoyable none the less just to make small talk with the girls.

Of course, the one hostess that took up the majority of his time was none other than MEIKO.

She would tease him and frustrate him to no end, but somehow the entire tiresome ordeal would give him a sense of fulfillment. 

“It’s been so long since MEIKO’s been happy like this you know. You work miracles,” the top hostess would muse. “She would just sigh and all that and put up a front, like we all do. But she’s been cheerful even out of attending a client. Now that I think about it… You get such a special privilege to see the real us you know!” This was followed by a gentle laugh.

But MEIKO wasn’t so happy with him getting along with all the other hostesses. It was jealousy, pure and simple.

——————————————

“I think you had too much to drink.”

“Oh do you?”

“Yeah. Why don’t you lay down?”

“Fine. Teru-tan~”

“What’s up?”

She laid on her back on the couch in the guest booth, her head on his lap. She sighed with a mixture of resentment and mild disappointment. “I’m bored.”

“You don’t sound all that bored.”

She flipped around and laid across is lap. “You’re not so fun to tease anymore. You don’t turn bright red like you used to.”

“I’ve gotten used to your methods,” he grinned.

“What can I do to get you to blush like you used to? Strip down naked?”

“That may work.”

“Nah I don’t want to try. You filthy pervert.”

He laughed and gently patted her back. “I gotta go now. Train’s scheduled to come soon.”

“Hey you know, why don’t you just stay the night. Maybe at my place or something.”

“That’s not necessary.”

He slowly shifted himself out from under her and out of the seat.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

As he picked up his jacket and left, Meiko flipped through the wallet she managed to pilfer from him when laying across his lap.

“Let’s see here. Some credit cards, an ID, and oh, what’s these photos?”

She anxiously took the photo out of his wallet and saw a picture of Kiyoteru standing next to a younger girl.

She turned and laid on her back, holding the photo up against the light.

“Hmm… it’s dated December 4th, 2009. What the heck is this?”

She twirled the photo around and around, not really getting any useful information out of it aside from the date printed and the apparent subject matter. 

“Maybe that girl is his girlfriend. The one with the pretty embroidery,” she murmured. “I haven’t done embroidery in years, I wonder if he would be happy if I made a monogrammed handkerchief from him.”

She sat up and began to consider and entertain the idea of embroidering something for him. She hummed a small tune while imagining what kind of design she should do or make, should she ever have time to take on this endeavor. 

Putting the picture back in his wallet, she suddenly realized a very vital fact.

“Uh oh. His train pass is in here. Along with all his money." She broke out into laughter. "Eh, he’ll be back again later. Hopefully soon.”


	5. Bento 5

She stood outside Club LOLA, the harsh artificial lighted advertisements illuminating the bustling street. She pulled out an old slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes and turned them in her hands.

An old customer had left it once and she kept it in her purse. She usually tossed a bunch of things in there and never took the time to sort it out, but tonight she was bored and just digging her purse for entertainment.

She had never tried smoking before, but maybe trying tonight wouldn’t hurt she supposed. Taking one of the matchbooks the club distributed, she lit up the cigarette and breathed in the smoke, only to send it out with a sputtering cough.

“Ah. It really isn’t my kind of thing, huh…” She held up the glowing cigarette, not really knowing what to do with it. “What the hell…”

“MEIKO!!” His shout echoed through the alley, and was something of an angry growl with frustration anger and annoyance boiled together in a low resonance.

The way he clumsily ran with his bag tucked under one arm and clutching up his balled up jacket in the other made her let out a hearty guffaw. “Hey there, four-eyes. Been waitin’ for ya." 

"What did you do with–”

“Here,” she smirked, slapping his forehead with his wallet. “Don’t worry, I didn’t take anything aside from a quick peek.”

“What do you think you’re doing just taking my stuff like that…?”

She shrugged. “Dunno.”

“Because of you, I missed the train, I couldn’t buy a ticket, couldn’t get a taxi.”

She snickered. “Well ain’t that a mighty shame.”

He gave a somewhat exaggerated “hmph!” and crossed his arms. “You should take some responsibility.”

“What kind of responsibility do you want me to take, hotshot?”

“At least cover my cab fare home.”

“Pfft. Nah.” She turned away and began to walk away.

“Where do you think  _you’re_  going?”

“The club isn’t closed yet, but I know I’m not going to get any customers, so I’m heading home early for the night.”

“And??”

“You’re coming with me, right?” The city lights mingled dimly with her features, giving her a soft yet mischievous smile.

As she turned and continued walking, he couldn’t help but follow her.

————————————————-

“Make yourself at home.”

“Ah… pardon the intrusion.”

MEIKO kicked off her heels at the entrance, and turned around with a flourish, gesturing her room. “Ta-da! First time you’ve ever been in a girl’s house, I bet.”

“Stop teasing me like that.”

“It is your first time, isn’t it?”

“It is not,” he spat out, irritated. “What do you take me for?”

“A virgin.”

“Badtz! Incorrect!”

“Oh so you’ve had your way with a girl or two, huh?” She stood in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips and her legs spread apart in a wide stance. “Well there’s no way you’re going to have your way with me, so give up on it!”

“I didn’t intend to have any sort of way with you, aside from  _OUT_  of the way.”

“Rude.” She grinned and trotted off to the kitchen. “I’ll make some tea.. Make yourself comfortable, ok?”

“Yeah yeah. Pardon me.” He sat down on the cushion on the floor and loosened his tie with a sigh.

“What the hell is she thinking anyway….” he murmured. As anyone in a new house would do, he looked around the room taking note of the various objects and commodities.

There wasn’t anything really outstanding, the house was rather tidy surprisingly (or at least to him it was surprising), but what he couldn’t help but notice was the large stuffed animals that were on her bed.

“Here’s your tea!”

“Ah thank you.” He took the cup from her and their hands had brushed up against each other for a brief moment. He didn’t think much of it, but what he didn’t know was that it made MEIKO’s heart race a little.

“So, four-eyes, do you mind sleepin’ on the floor or something? Or would you rather sleep in the bed with me? I’ll be your pillow~♥” She playfully pressed her breasts together, pushing them towards his face.

“I’ll pass. I don’t think there’s any room for me on that bed with you and those stuffed animals there. You collect those?”

She smiled. “Not really. Got those from an After.”

“After?”

“It’s kind of like an extra service where we go out with a customer after hours.”

“So you went out on a little extra date with a customer and they bought you those as a gift?”

“Yep!”

“Did you bring them back to your room too?”

MEIKO began to detect a bit of bitterness and hostility in his voice, and quickly tried to fix the situation. “A-actually you’re the first man I’ve ever brought home.”

“Is that so?”

“I don’t really spend much time in here, to be honest. I just come here to sleep.”

“Mhm.” He sipped at the tea and glanced away from her.

“Hey…”

“What do you want?”

She moved across from the other side of the table and sat next to him. “Are you that mad? Why did you come with me here?”

“You invited me.”

“You rejected the invitation before.”

“Well you gave me a choice then, but this time you weren’t really giving me much of a choice, MEIKO.”

“Hanako.”

“What?”

“My name. It’s Hanako.”

His heart began to race at those words. He couldn’t help but think that Hanako was a cute and sweet name, and didn’t suit the girl that was before him.

“I told you before, didn’t I? MEIKO is just my genji name. My real name is… Hanako…”

“So… H-hanako…” It took him a lot of effort to say her name. He could hardly hear himself speak; the pounding of his heart was deafening to his ears.

“Yes?”

 _When a girl invites you to her room, she’s inviting you for sex!_  That’s the kind of thing that all fellow males tell each other, especially when gossiping to each other. His heart throbbed in his chest, and his hands trembled. He didn’t know why he had to recall that tidbit of information at that moment when she touched his hand and glanced up at him.

Oh! But that upward glance! It was really the final straw.

 There was a mixture of excitement and fear in his eyes, or at least so MEIKO thought when he yanked her chin up and kissed her.


	6. Bento 6

He woke up with a loud groan. He had a crick in his neck, a splitting headache and his whole body felt sore.

Sitting up from the futon laid out on the floor in the unfamiliar room, he began to piece together the events of the night prior.

He had followed her to her apartment at her behest, he had kissed her, she had slapped him, harsh words were exchanged, she threw the futon at him, and both of them went to sleep feeling highly dissatisfied. That was the general gist of it. He couldn’t recall exactly what kind of expression she had when he had kissed her, though he wished he could remember. The only thing he could remember with high fidelity was the taste of her lips when they kissed, soft and sweet but muddled by the bitterness of tobacco.

There was a lot of disgruntled mumbling as he hauled himself off the floor and began to fold and put away the futon and gather his things.

He set his glasses back onto his face, and found that one of the hinges was loose and broken, most likely from her high precision slap. 

“Jeez, she owes me a lot for all the damn trouble she’s put me through…” he muttered, as he glanced over to her sleeping form curled on her bed. 

She didn’t stir when he gently shook her shoulder. He was at loss what to do. He didn’t really want to up and leave without apologizing for what happened last night, but he didn’t want to disturb that small peaceful smile as she slept.

“Jeez MEIKO, you’ve caused a lot of trouble for me. You tease me, you flirt with me, you invite me to your room, and when I make a move on you I’m suddenly the bad guy.” He chuckled as he crouched down and poked her face. “I know I’m not a good man, and I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you. If I were any other man, I probably wouldn’t be able to control myself after seeing you sleeping so defenselessly. Bringing a man into your apartment when he could clearly have forced himself on you if he so pleased… Maybe you’re just more naive than I thought.”

Gently brushing her bangs out of her face, he gave a sad smile. “Even after all that you put me through, you still have the audacity to look this cute. I’m sorry, Hanako. Just let me have this one thing.”

He lightly kissed her and left her apartment with the faint taste of cigarettes lingering on his lips.

————————————————

For the next couple of days, Kiyoteru failed to show up at Club LOLA. The other hostesses began to worry about what had happened to him, and the ladies began to believe that something definitely happened between them.

MEIKO kept quiet about the incident, and and continued to help the hostesses attend to their guests and clients. The truth was that when he had kissed her, she kissed him back passionately. But when she realized what was happening, she slapped him in embarrassment. Resorting to violence and yelling when flustered; that was the kind of woman she was.

“ _He probably had the completely wrong idea_ ,” she thought. “ _I didn’t dislike it…_ ”

Even when the other hostesses noticed she was troubled and tried to comfort her, she didn’t really have any of it. 

“You should call him or message him,” they urged, but MEIKO would only shake her head. They believed she was being stubborn, but in actuality she didn’t have any of his contact info. He would come over with food, they would talk and complain to one another but she never actually thought about keeping in contact with him at all. She had truly taken his presence for granted.

“ _I really want to apologize to him._ " Those were the kinds of thoughts and feelings she had when she bought an embroidery kit and began on working on her sewing skills on her spare time.

————————————————

He stood on the roof of the building enjoying the breeze and the warm sun. It was stuffy at his workplace. and being up here made him feel a little better. Pulling a fresh pack of cigarettes from his pocket, he lit one up and inhaled deeply.

"Senpai, you can’t smoke here! Can’t you read the sign? It says no smoking!”

The yelling had startled him and he nearly choked on the cigarette. He turned around to see one of his coworkers in an angry huff. Her expression was that of an intense indignant frown, her hands clenched into tight balled fists at her side. “I know you need glasses, but is your eyesight that bad that you can’t read this measly sign??”

He lowered the cigarette from his lips and exhaled, the smoke wafting upwards. “Sorry about that.” He snuffed the cigarette in a portable ashtray and put it in his pocket.

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “I know I haven’t been working here for very long, but I had no idea you smoked.”

“I don’t.”

“Then what the hell was that?”

“This?” He tossed her the pack of cigarettes and she caught it clumsily. “I just bought those. I used to smoke back in high school, didn’t like it very much but I did it because everyone was doing it. After I graduated and went to university I stopped. But today I was just craving the taste of tobacco.”

“I didn’t know you were that sort of person.”

He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “In any case I’m not going to smoke anymore; you can take those and give them a try sometime.”

“I would never…!”

He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. “There’s a lot about being an adult that I don’t even understand, so give it your all, ok? Break time’s over, let’s get back to work.”

He walked back into the building, leaving her baffled on the roof clutching the pack of cigarettes tightly.


	7. Bento 7

There was plenty of chattering and excitement around Club LOLA that night.

Tonight was the night that the hosts at LOLA’s twin club, Club LEON, would come and play. It wasn’t unusual for host clubs and hostess clubs to visit one another, and Club LEON and Club LOLA were two of a kind.

Of course, Kiyoteru didn’t know about the festivities as he wandered into the establishment. He had only recently steeled his nerves and convinced himself to apologize to MEIKO for kissing her (both when she was awake and asleep).

When he walked in, he was taken aback by how lively the club was. 

“Oh, if it isn’t Teru-tan!” one of the hostesses chirped. “It’s been a long time, all of us missed you!”

“W-what’s going on here?”

“Club LEON’s come over for a visit!” chimed in another.

He rubbed the back of his neck and muttered “I see” but didn’t quite understand what she had meant. 

But what he did understand was the sight of MEIKO smiling and enjoying herself with a blue haired man, who was grinning and loudly drinking with a few other hostesses. He felt jealous at the way she looked at him, and he knew that the man wasn’t just a guest to her. That man was definitely something more. 

He couldn’t stand being in that sort of atmosphere anymore, and quickly excused himself to the few hostesses that were chatting and trying to catch up with him. “I’ll be back again later, but don’t tell MEIKO I dropped by ok?”

While Kiyoteru left feeling conflicted, the hostesses giggled among themselves. "Don’t tell MEIKO he came by? Haha, is he trying to make her think he’s still mad at her? Well, he’s jealous of KAITO, how cute. Maybe he’s mad at her for real, now!“

————————————————

It seemed like a really stupid idea. He stood outside Club LEON, and he was starting to have second thoughts about this silly stupid idea of his. But he took a deep breath and opened those doors.

"Welcome!” A handsome young man greeted him, but what the man said next threw Kiyoteru completely off guard. “Oh? A man? Don’t worry; we can still service you, so please choose whatever host tickles your fancy.

"I’m not here for that!”

The young man cocked his head to the side. “Not here for that? Then what are you here for?”

“Er…” He looked around nervously, and he really began to believe that he should have thought this through more thoroughly before attempting.

“Oh! Are you here to apply?”

“Eh?”

The young man moved uncomfortably close to him, and eyed him up and down. “You’re not half bad, and with a little touch up you might be unexpectedly popular.”

Kiyoteru could only make a few stammering protests before he was dragged off to the back room.

——————————————-

Club LEON was understaffed and they were advertising for some temp work, the young man explained. Kiyoteru didn’t want any of it, but after being told the dire need of employees (and the exorbitant starting salary), he couldn’t bring himself to say no. A little extra pocket money never hurt anyone.

He was forced into more formal attire and groomed, and he was uncomfortably surveyed from head to toe by the other hosts at the club. 

“Not bad not bad,” they muttered.

“I’ll be only working here for tonight, but I’ll be in your care.”

“Only tonight?”

He turned a little red and glanced away, scratching his nose. “Well, I have something of a part time job as an errand boy at Club LOLA already…”

“MEIKO’s errand boy, right?”

“How did you know that??”

One of the young hosts grinned. “Oh boy she wouldn’t stop talking about you when we went to visit. Seems like you’ve been neglecting your duty for a week or so though!”

“So who’s her favorite host…?”

“Oh, KAITO? He’s the top host here.”

“I want to speak to him.”

“He’s busy always attending guests, but after we close and clean up, maybe you could get a chance to talk to him.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in your care.” He gave a curt bow, and the other hosts gave a thumbs up.

——————————————–

After the night was over, he collapsed onto one of the couches in the break room.

“Hey there newbie! You didn’t do half bad. Don’t quit your day job though!” one of the hosts smirked.

“Yeah yeah. Don’t plan on quitting my day job, don’t need to tell me twice.”

“You did fantastic though! I can’t believe you actually were chosen a guest!” said the young host that had recruited him, and he was smiling broadly.

“Well she had a megane fetish, so does that count?” butted in another host.

The other hosts seemed to blabber on and on about his performance, but he was too exhausted to really care. Even so, when the top host KAITO had walked in Kiyoteru jumped out of his seat.

“Good work everyone, we all did well tonight.” KAITO declared proudly.

“Excuse me, KAITO-san, I’d like to speak with you.”

“Who are you?”

“He’s some new temp help I hired,” explained the young host.

“I see. If you want to talk to me, do you mind waiting a little longer?”

“It’s no trouble to me.”

KAITO smiled, but Kiyoteru couldn’t help but feel utterly irritated by it. 

After cleaning up the club, the two were soon set to have their heart to heart talk.


	8. Bento 8

Both of the men were walking through an empty park, as it was settled that it was a fine place to have a private talk.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?" 

Despite how late it and how exhausting the whole host club business was, KAITO managed to keep energetic and cheery. Honestly, it got on Kiyoteru’s nerves.

"Oh, don’t tell me,” KAITO exclaimed. “You’re in love with me and wanted to confess.”

“Puh?” Kiyoteru sputtered. “No way!”

KAITO snickered. “Then what?”

“I wanted to talk about Hanako. What exactly are you to her?”

KAITO stopped in his tracks. “Is that really the first thing you’re going to interrogate me on?”

“Is that a problem?”

“I’m surprised you know her name, aside from just her genji name.”

“Are you avoiding my question?”

“The thing is,” KAITO chuckled, “that I can really ask the same question to you. What exactly are  _you_  to her?”

Kiyoteru shrugged. “I’m really just her errand boy.”

“Really? If you’re who I’m thinking of, then she’s talked a lot about you. I can’t help but feel a little jealous how much she likes you.”

There was a long silence between the two, and Kiyoteru struggled to think of a proper response.

KAITO moved over to him and stuck his hand out. “Taro.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s my name. If you haven’t figured it out, KAITO isn’t my real name.”

“Your point?”

“Just trying to introduce myself properly.”

He reluctantly shook the other man’s hand. “Well… I’m Kiyoteru. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. Well if you want to know what Hanako is to me, the most succinct I can get is friends.”

“Really.”

KAITO gave a bitter smile. “Well. I get the fact you don’t like me very much by your responses and such, but I don’t have anything against you, ok? But since Hanako is involved, I’m starting to be unsure if I like you much either.”

“Seems you care about her a lot.”

“Of course I do. I can’t exactly tell you to stay away from her, but the closer you get to her the more I think I’ll dislike you.”

“Duly noted.”

“I’ll be heading home now. We’ll probably see each other again." 

KAITO flashed his signature host smile and left with a flourish, leaving Kiyoteru clenching his fists and gritting his teeth in irritation.

——————————————-

He felt so aggravated by the whole situation, and he knew that he probably would have to sort out his own feelings before trying to see MEIKO again.

What was he acting jealous for? What was he acting possessive for? Those were the questions that he struggled to answer.

He hadn’t spoken to her for two weeks since the entire incident going to her apartment. During that time, she occupied a lot of his thoughts, and he really was much to ashamed of himself to face her.

The confrontation with KAITO didn’t quell any of his worries either, and only made him feel worse. KAITO (or should he say, Taro) seemed to be very good friends with Hanako, and to be rude and passive aggressive to him probably meant getting another slap to the face once she found out.

And not only that, but he also didn’t know who he fell in love with. Was it with MEIKO? Or Hanako? It was the job and skill of a hostess to make her guests happy, and the way MEIKO always acted was most certainly a front. However, she was the one he had spent the most time with. But at what point did the mask end and Hanako begin? Did he fall in love with her, or what she just wanted him to see?

There were so many questions he couldn’t answer with his mind jumbled like this.

———————————————-

He had returned to Club LOLA with great fanfare, and all the hostesses swarmed around him and lavished him with attention.

"I’m here to see MEIKO, like usual.”

“Pretending nothing happened after all this time? Smooth,” one of the hostesses giggled.

“There was a big project and I was stuck with a bunch of overtime and didn’t have a chance to come by.”

“Is that the excuse you’re going to give her?” asked one of the other ladies.

“You’ve seen right through me, gals. Do you think she’ll accept that as an explanation?”

The girls looked at each other and beamed at him. “We’re sure. Go get her.”

————————————————-

He stood at the entrance to the break room and knocked on the door frame. “Hey! Special delivery.”

After she noticed him, she jumped straight of her seat and into his arms. “Kiyoteru? You came back!" 

"Why wouldn’t I?”

“I thought you weren’t going to ever come back, I thought maybe you hated me.”

“Same here. I thought maybe you hated me after what I tried to pull that night at your apartment. I’m really sorry.”

“Th-that’s not–”

She was cut off by her thrusting a bag into her arms. “I got you a lot of things as an apology, so just enjoy. I’ve been a terrible errand boy not showing up for work to deliver for the past weeks or so, so forgive me.”

“You’re forgiven.” She shuffled through the bag and found a small stuffed animal, a bento, and a pack of cigarettes. “What’s this? I don’t smoke.”

“You don’t? I saw you smoking that night. I figured you might have been going through packs of those, so I bought your favorite brand.”

“That was me being bored, I don’t really smoke, ever. That night was an exception because I wanted to just try it out.”

“Ah. Well then.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “There’s just a lot I don’t know about you, I’m sorry for making assumptions.”

She smiled. “I got something for you too. Ta-da!" 

He was presented with an embroidered handkerchief. Though the stitching was by no means neat, he was still pleasantly surprised.

"I worked weeks on that, I hope it looked ok. I haven’t done sewing since home economics back in high school,” she laughed.

“You’ve been waiting for me to come back to give me this?”

Suddenly self-conscious, she blushed and turned away. “Nah. I’m just giving you one of my practice embroidery.”

“I see.”

There was a silence between the two, and MEIKO couldn’t much stand it. After all this time there was so much she wanted to tell him, but now that he was here her mind was blank.

“MEIKO?”

“Y-yes?”

“Please continue to take care of me.”

“I should be saying that to you.”

“I just can’t leave you alone, can I?”


End file.
